


Your Eyes Are Really Pretty

by Ren_Shinohara



Category: Welcome to Hell - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Eventual Fluff, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2020-01-20 18:09:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18530380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ren_Shinohara/pseuds/Ren_Shinohara
Summary: Jonathan wakes up on a beach to discover that he's been rescued by a young boy named Sock from a sinking ship. Most of his family was on that ship, and he now goes home to an empty house, living an empty life. One day, he goes back to the beach to find Sock there, and asks Sock to teach him how to swim.He thinks that maybe, if he learns how to swim, he'll be able to be normal. To walk by the beach on his way home from school and not feel so afraid.xxx"I'm just enjoying the view," Sock retorts. That gets Jonathan scrambling back into the water real fast, glaring at Sock. Unabashed, Sock merely smiles. "Okay, so take my hands. No, my hands, not my wrists. Dear god Jonathan, I'm not asking you to do anything scandalous." He grins. "Unless you want to." Ignoring Jonathan's indignant stammers, Sock gently draws the other into deeper water.





	1. Shallow Waters Can Still Hide Secrets

**Author's Note:**

> So I tried writing this ages ago... and while I had most of the chapters written out, one key chapter just wouldn't work itself out, and a lot of them were written out of order. Also, a lot of it was short and not fully fleshed out. But then I found them again and thought, "Why not?" So... let's see where this goes. If it doesn't work out, I'll just edit what I have and hope it works well enough.

"Hey. Hey, wake up."`

Someone is patting the side of his face. Lightly... no, harder now, and it was starting to hurt. As if the person is trying to bruise him - or maybe he just feels bruised in general. Everything aches. Groaning, he tries to open his eyes, but they refuse to move. Cold air hits the side of his face suddenly as whoever had been near him moves away. He tries to reach out, then croaks, "Hello?"

Nobody answers. He's aware, suddenly, of the sound of waves and wind. Rain stings his skin as he forces his eyes open, too hazy to be startled at the shadow watching him from the rocks. He's at the beach - he vaguely remembers disjointed memories of the ship, of water, and of something so green it nearly glowed in the dark. "Are you..?" he tries, then starts coughing. The person hurriedly comes forward, lifting him so that he's upright. He throws up some seawater, the salt burning his throat. A hand rubs circles on his back as the person sighs in relief.

"I thought you died," the person finally says, and though it sounds unconcerned, it also sounds surprisingly young and distinctly male. He looks at the person, but something's wrong with his eyes - his vision is blurry, almost dark, and all he can make out is a dark red shape hovering close by.

The person notices him staring. His voice sounds amused as he says, "See something you like?"

"I - I can't see very well," he stammers.

"Oh." His rescuer - at least, that's what he assumes - draws close enough that he can make out the details. A young, round face with freckles and bright green eyes. Red hair is plastered down the sides of the boy's face. "Might be 'cause of the storm. It's pretty dark for daytime. You should get going. You gonna catch a cold?" The boy grins as if to apologize, but it's sharper than it ought to be.

Irritation shoots through him, and he stands up to glare at the boy. "No," he snaps, ignoring how his body did not like being upright so suddenly. His vision turns black as the boy's laughter rose above the sounds of the storm. When his vision clears, the boy is back in the water, only his head poking out.

"Seems you're alright then," the boy calls out cheerfully.

"Are you going swimming?" he asks, alarmed.

The boy shrugs. "I'm not as bad as you," he teases, then vanishes beneath the water. There's a flash of red, and then it's gone. Jonathan stands there for a long moment, waiting to see the boy resurface.

He doesn't.

* * *

 "Eh? You want to learn how to swim?"

Jonathan nods. Bizarrely, the boy who'd saved him is clinging to the same clump of rocks as before, shoulder-deep in the water. He scrunches up his face in an exaggerated expression of confusion. "Why not ask someone you know?" the boy presses.

Jonathan hesitates. "It's complicated," he says, thinking about the empty house waiting at home. About his phone, and the insanely short contact list. "Plus, I doubt anyone I know can actually swim..." A lie, but for all he knows it could be true. He looks at the ground. "Look, if you can't, just tell me," he says curtly, already drawing back. He's about to turn away when he sees the boy shaking his head fervently.

"No! I totally can!" the boy confirms. "Here, let's make it official. I'm Sock, and you're..?"

"Sock?" Jonathan echoes, confused.

Sock grins. "No, I'm Sock."

"Right. Uh, I'm Jonathan."

"Okay, Jonathan. I'll teach you how to swim!" Sock announces cheerfully. He crosses both arms on the rocks, drawing Jonathan's attention immediately. For someone who must swim often - how else could Sock be such a good swimmer? - the kid has the complexion of a snowman. And that's being generous. Jonathan's attention snaps back to Sock, who finishes his sentence with, "-and then it'll end with a splash!"

Jonathan's mind ever so slowly comes up with, "Huh?"

Sock rolls his eyes. "You weren't listening, were you?"

"Nope."

Dramatically, Sock throws both his arms up into the air. "This is off to a great start. Okay, two rules. You listening this time?"

"Sure..."

Sock grins. "Don't ever touch me, and never come here at night."

Jonathan raises an eyebrow, having not expected those particular conditions. "Okay, but why?" he asks.

"The waves get rough at night," Sock explains dismissively. "You can't even float I bet, so you should stay away." He gestures. "Come on in! Let's try some swimming now." Sock reaches out as if to pull Jonathan in, but doesn't actually lean into it. Jonathan leans back anyway, grimacing. "I have homework," he admits. "Will you be here on the weekend?"

Sock blinks. "Uh, yeah. I think. What day of the week is it?"

"Thursday." Jonathan laughs. "My classmates always know what day of the week it is. They're always complaining that it's not Friday." He chuckles, not noticing the odd smile that flickers across Sock's face. He does notice, however, when Sock splashes him. Not the small splash that comes from someone throwing a handful of water, but the kind that should only be produced by a whale being dropped in the ocean. Sputtering, Jonathan backs away and trips over his feet, landing on the sidewalk.

Laughter hits his ears, and he looks up to see Sock doubled over, shoulders shaking, almost completely submerged. The laughter catches his attention somehow. It doesn't sound like the obnoxious snorts of his bullies, at least. In fact, it sounds like...

"Saturday then," Sock interrupts his thoughts. "I'm not too good with time. Maybe noon?"

"After lunch," Jonathan says. "I'm eating with my grandma that day."

"Grandma?" Sock repeats. A mischievous light sparks in his eyes. "Special occasion?"

No, Jonathan wants to say. Just my family grieving together. He sighs. "Yeah, you could say that," he mumbles. He shoves his hands in his pockets. "See you Saturday," he says, walking away. He gets the urge to glance back, but when he does - there's nothing there. Except for a ripple of water where Sock had been, but that can easily be just the waves.

God, he hopes he isn't crazy.

* * *

 "It's a kick. It's not rocket science, Jonathan," Sock says. His voice is too youthful to really command authority, but nevertheless, it carries. "Kick one leg forward, the other back - no, that's both legs forward. You are insanely uncoordinated. No, don't stop moving your arms! Circular motions. You stop moving, you drown."

Jonathan grits his teeth. He wants to say something back, but he's too busy trying to breathe air to manage any words.

He can't help thinking that it would be easier if he could hold onto Sock. He might've tried holding onto the rocks, but they're jagged and sharp. He's surprised Sock managed without cutting his hands open.

"Let's take a break," Sock sighs, and Jonathan gratefully pulls himself to the shallows, sitting down on the sand. Sock hangs back by the rocks, staring at him with narrowed eyes. "Do you play sports?" the boy asks, seeming to expect it when Jonathan shakes his head. "No wonder," Sock complains. "I don't even know where to start. Treading is basic!"

"I think the problem is the water," Jonathan grumbles.

"The water?"

"It keeps trying to eat me," Jonathan elaborates.

Sock sighs. "It's not trying to eat you. Just breathe, and the water pushes you upwards." He paces - there's no other word for what he does, despite being in the water - restlessly, thinking hard. Finally, he stops and faces Jonathan again. "You know, I think I forgot something. You need to learn how to breathe first... I'm going to hold your hands and hold you up. Just hold your breath as long as possible."

"What, I can touch you now?" Jonathan says sarcastically. He immediately regrets it as soon as Sock smirks. To his surprise, though, Sock simply shakes his head and tells him, "Just for now." He gestures for Jonathan to come back into the water.

"I'm still tired."

Sock rolls his eyes. "Don't make me drag you in here."

"Try," Jonathan challenges him, leaning back and closing his eyes. A few minutes of silence pass before he peeks to see Sock in the same place as before. "What? No comeback?"

"I'm just enjoying the view," Sock retorts. That gets Jonathan scrambling back into the water real fast, glaring at Sock. Unabashed, Sock merely smiles. "Okay, so take my hands. No, my hands, not my wrists. Dear god Jonathan, I'm not asking you to do anything scandalous." He grins. "Unless you want to." Ignoring Jonathan's indignant stammers, Sock gently draws the other into deeper water.

Jonathan stops stammering and instead focuses on not drowning. Sock’s hands are cold. So cold that for a second he’s actually distracted enough to relax.

"So take a deep breath," Sock instructs him.

He does, clapping his mouth together to keep any air from escaping.

"Now hold it..."

Jonathan nods.

Sock flashes him a far-too-wide smile. Jonathan just barely has time to wonder what's going on when small (but surprisingly strong) hands grip his head and shoves him below the water. His first reaction is to yell, which results in big, fat bubbles of precious air floating past his face. Then he struggles, but immediately Sock yanks him back up above the surface. Jonathan gulps in the air, coughing up some seawater.

"I said hold it," Sock's voice says.

He has the nerve to sound irritated.

Jonathan glares through blurred eyes. "You didn't say you were going to dunk me!" he sputters.

"I'm gonna do it again," Sock says cheerfully. Jonathan tries to pull away, but the kid's grip turns hard, unrelenting. "In three... two..."

Jonathan desperately inhales.

"One!"

He's shoved beneath the water again. This time his eyes are open. The water is silty, forcing him to squint, but there is something red and swaying - seaweed? Or a dress? The thought of Sock wearing a skirt makes Jonathan laugh. Which, of course, makes him choke on seawater.

It takes three more tries for him to manage to hold his breath for more than ten seconds.

Sock looks ready to strangle him by the seventh try.

On the tenth, Sock's grip feels like it's going to bruise. "I'm done," Jonathan announces. He scrambles up onto the shore, grabbing his towel.

"What? No thanks?" Sock calls out.

"Thanks for trying to teach me," Jonathan calls back.

Sock watches him dry off, then says, "Y'know, come back again tomorrow. I think I can help... one of my friends is better at this, so I'll ask them for advice."

"Anyone is better at this," Jonathan mutters, just loud enough for Sock to hear. Sock can't help yelling, "Anyone but you!"

Jonathan rolls his eyes. Sock half fancies that the boy's about to flip him off, but instead, Jonathan puts on his headphones and walks off, leaving Sock to wonder if he's coming back. Sock thrashes his tail, irritated. Of course, now he's going to have to wait by the shore all day tomorrow, wondering if Jonathan is coming back. Instead of singing like he's supposed to... not that he has any pressing need to, he considers.

He's been pretty diligent for a while. He deserves a break.

* * *

 "You?" Mephistopheles chuckles.

Sock pouts, crossing his arms. "I'm bored!"

"Not as close and personal, huh?" the man muses, but he's entirely misreading Sock's statement. Sock's not stupid, though - he's perfectly happy to let Mephistopheles think that. He also knows better than to directly lie to him. Instead, he keeps his arms crossed and his pout up.

The man shrugs. "Fine, take a break. You've been doing good. Not gonna lie, I wish it came as easy to all my sirens the way it does you, so feel free to take a good long while off if you want. Just take care of your voice, alright?"

"'Kay," Sock agrees, delighted.

He's leaving, excited, but halfway back to the shore he remembers that he's not sure if Jonathan's coming back after all and all his joy drains away. He comforts himself by thinking that at least he can always try find the guy. There's always that knife...

He spots a head of blonde before that thought can go further, and grins. "Hey Jonathan!"

Jonathan doesn't look spectacularly pleased to see him. Sock doesn't let that bother him, instead waving the reluctant boy over enthusiastically. "I asked my friend," he says happily, "and he says I was doing it all wrong? What he told me to do sounded pretty close to what I was doing though, so I bet he doesn't have a right to talk. He says you gotta learn to relax, whatever that means. Panicking means you need to breathe sooner."

“I’m not about to relax in an environment hellbent on chewing me up and spitting me out,” Jonathan retorts.

Sock just stares at him. “...You know that relaxing is the whole point of floating, right?”


	2. The Tide Goes Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are going great for Sock and Jonathan. A few weeks of swimming lessons and Jonathan can at least tread, if not quite at the point where he can swim with ease.
> 
> So, naturally, this is the point when things start to go wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh... I never wrote this scene before because it was too hard. And after a while I was just like, forget it! I'm gonna write it and get it over with! Hopefully it's alright, there's one more hard scene to deal with after this and after that, I get to have fun.

“Are these goggles?” Sock says excitedly, holding the gift above his head so that the lenses glint in the sunlight. After a few weeks of swimming lessons, Jonathan had come to the beach blushing bright red from embarrassment and holding a small package in one hand. Sock had torn it apart and thrown the paper aside carelessly to find a pair of goggles. They’re swimming goggles, but even better than that, they look  _ cool, _ like the kind of goggles a person can cosplay with.

Jonathan nods, still not quite looking at Sock. “As a thank you,” he explains. “For the… swimming lessons.” It’s glaringly obvious that this means more to him than it does to Sock, but Sock doesn’t really mind. He’s still happy with the gift - it’s the first one he’s gotten in ages.

Sock straps the goggles onto his head, amidst the wild, red nest of hair he’s got up there. “Thanks, Jonathan!” he says brightly. He doesn’t need them, of course. But he doesn’t tell Jonathan that. That would just be begging for more questions, which would ruin this lovely friendship thing they’ve got going on.

“So… What’s today’s lesson?” Jonathan asks, gingerly lowering himself into the water. Jonathan once complained about how cold the water is, which reminded Sock that the water is, in fact, quite freezing for normal people.

He didn’t rush Jonathan into the water after that. At least, not as often.

Sock grins, crossing his arms. “Today I was thinking we could head to deeper waters.” At Jonathan’s look of alarm, Sock rolls his eyes. “Don’t worry, I’ll be watching. But you’ve got floating down, and you can swim pretty decently.”

“Yeah. In  _ shallow _ waters,” Jonathan points out.

“We’ve been in the shallow waters for a month,” Sock says. “I’ll be right here! It’ll be totally fine!”

Jonathan was nodding, right up until then. “Wait,” he realizes. “You’re not coming with me?”

“Well… no?”

“I could  _ drown. _ ”

“Um. Er… Lifeguards aren’t usually in the water… in the first place… right?”

Jonathan shoots Sock a glare. “That’s because they’re watching multiple people. I’m not going out there by myself.”

Sock hesitates. “Okay. Okay, I’ll be with you.” He smiles and grabs Jonathan’s forearm, dragging the startled boy away from the shore. “Keep up!” Sock calls, ducking beneath the surface of the water to swim. Jonathan follows, albeit with his eyes shut and his limbs a bit too uncoordinated to go quite as fast.

After a minute, Sock gently tugs on Jonathan’s shoulders to signal that they’ve gone far enough. When Jonathan stops and gasps for air, Sock frowns in disapproval.

“Did you forget to breathe?” he asks.

Jonathan groans. “I kept getting water in my mouth,” he mutters, spitting out some sea water. He’s treading easily, Sock notices. Which is good - at least that’s improved. “You have to raise your head each time you turn,” Sock reminds him. “ _ Above _ the water.”

“I know that,” Jonathan sighs. “I’m working on it.”

“Good! And see, I told you that you improved. You couldn’t tread at all before,” Sock says happily. He glances towards the horizon, wishing they could go further but not really wanting to have Jonathan  _ actually _ drown trying to go too far. A wave comes, and it completely washes Jonathan back to the beach. Sock chuckles as he ducks below the water, watching Jonathan’s feet flail in panic.

They practice riding the waves for a bit - with Sock laughing each time Jonathan frantically pushes himself upwards to avoid getting pushed - until Jonathan gets the hang of it. No matter what Sock says, Jonathan can’t be convinced to go below the surface to avoid the waves.

“It’s easier!” Sock tries.

Jonathan just shakes his head. “Easy or not, I’m not going under.”

“It’s not gonna eat you!”

“Says you!”

When Jonathan finally smoothly stays above the wave, Sock watches proudly from below. He can’t help teasing Jonathan when the wave passes, though. “You’re so funny!” he laughs, reaching out to steady Jonathan. “I’m glad you like swimming, but you’re way too tense!”

“I don’t want to drown,” Jonathan replies.

They’re silent for a moment, treading the water. Then Jonathan sighs. “Sorry. That was too serious.”

“No. No, that’s a good reason,” Sock says quietly. Sock pulls his goggles down and grins. “Let’s head for the other side of the beach!” He pushes Jonathan along, and they swim halfway across the shoreline before Jonathan makes a break for the beach, panting.

He really admires Sock at times. The kid is clearly stronger than him. And more athletic. Jonathan kind of expects that from most people though, since he’s never really been one for sports. Or even PE class. He pulls himself onto the sand and flops over, ignoring the burning sensation of hot sand in favor of just lying there and catching his breath. He rolls over to see Sock watching him from the shallows, grinning.

“Look all you like,” Jonathan yells between breaths. “I need a break.”

Sock just waves. “I will then!” he yells back. Jonathan just closes his eyes, feeling the sun sear through his eyelids. The one thing he’s noticed is that he’s actually been getting a bit of a tan. Not a lot, but some. It makes him wonder how Sock’s managed to stay so pale, despite clearly being a frequent swimmer.

When they go back out, Jonathan’s gotten confident enough for them to go a little further. “Make sure to let me know if you get too tired!” Sock warns him. Jonathan nods, then, uncharacteristically mischievous, splashes Sock. Sock swiftly dodges, putting some distance between them, laughing as he gears up to retaliate.

Then it happens.

A wave that’s a bit too big.

Sock is a bit too far away.

And Jonathan isn’t paying attention.

It feels like the sea itself comes crashing down on his head, driving his breath from his lungs. He breathes in, then chokes, feeling the need to vomit and inhale all at once. Jonathan claws the water, which doesn’t do anything but disorient him further. He closes his eyes, his lungs burning as he gulps in more water. That’s bad. He’s pretty sure it’s bad, but it hurts so much that he can’t quite think clearly.

He  _ knew _ the sea was trying to eat him.

Strong arms suddenly yank him above the water, and he retches uncontrollably. He realizes, dimly, that Sock is the one holding him, feels the cold skin of his body against his back. “Sorry,” Sock says, and Jonathan’s stomach continues getting rid of its contents. “Make sure to get it all out,” Sock tells him, one hand braced to keep him from slipping loose.

Jonathan pants, wiping his mouth as he watches his vomit - which is disgusting, he can’t help thinking - get washed away by the currents.

His stomach hurts. His throat burns. He sags against Sock, knowing he must just be dead weight at this point, but Sock doesn’t seem to be having a problem keeping them both afloat. “That… sucked,” Jonathan says, surprised to find his voice slightly hoarse from the ordeal.

He both hears Sock laugh a little, and feels the chuckles against his back. “Sorry,” the kid says again, pulling Jonathan closer.

Jonathan is about to reply when he feels his legs brush against something. It’s cold, hard, and scaly. He stiffens, and Sock stiffens with him, but to Jonathan’s absolute shock, Sock shoves him away.

Sock shoves him away  _ hard _ .

“The hell!” Jonathan coughs, kicking instinctively. He turns to see Sock staring at him with a look of complete horror. And then Sock tries to cover it up. “S-sorry! I thought - I just felt something - and I panicked -”

“Seriously? Come on!” Jonathan complains, looking down. It’s hard to see anything, since the water at this beach is always silty, but they were washed a bit further out, which means the water here is a bit clearer. It’s clear enough for Jonathan to see a deep red tail where Sock’s legs should have been.

Jonathan looks up to see that Sock’s expression was frozen in horror again. Then Sock turns and escapes beneath the water, diving deep in a matter of seconds. Before Jonathan can say anything, Sock is gone.

* * *

 

“I’m so screwed,” Sock mumbles, curled up on a rock. Specifically, it’s a rock in his cave, which is underwater and far, far away from that beach with the blonde boy. He kept remembering the look of shock and surprise that Jonathan wore. He hadn’t wanted to see those emotions turn into disgust. Or even hatred.

“And now, here I am,” he mutters to himself, face in his hands. “All alone. Like the stupid coward that I am.”

He sighs. Then suddenly straightens as he sees a shadow fill the entrance to his cave, solidifying into the familiar form of Mephistopheles. “Hey there, Sock!” he cries, spreading his hands. “Any new deaths by drowning?”

“You said I can have weekends off,” Sock reminds him.

“Yeah but you were working the rest of the week, right?” Mephistopheles says cheerfully. He looks up at the bodies drifting about the ceiling and counts them. It’s a pretty big cave, and there are hundreds of bodies up there. Sock suspects that Mephistopheles is doing it for show.

As if he heard him, Mephistopheles puts his hands on his hips and says, “Looks like you got a good twelve-hundred of them! Good job!” He snaps his fingers, making the bodies disappear. Three don’t, and Mephistopheles looks up at them. “What happened here?” he asks, an unmistakable threat in his voice.

“Oh. Those were… my bad.” Sock’s tail shivers, but he continues, “One saw my tail. And when I killed him, two others came up, so…”

Mephistopheles shakes his head. “Sock, Sock, Sock. I told you I need souls and souls don’t stay in their bodies unless they punched their own ticket. But good job with the rest.” He frowns, looking thoughtful. He’s so obviously upset about something that Sock can’t help replying.

“What?”

“Well, nothing, Sowachowski. Just that I’m surprised you let someone see you without singing to them first.” Mephistopheles narrows his eyes, but his tone remains mild. It doesn’t fool Sock. “Distracted, are we?” Mephistopheles asks innocently.

Sock forces a shrug. “I don’t really get to kill anyone anymore,” he says. When he says it, he realizes it’s true. Those three had showed up on a weekday, and Sock had thought they were Jonathan. When he found out they weren’t, they were mocking and teasing him for absolutely no reason, so he killed them. Lured them into the water and stabbed them. It was thrilling and fun. “I get bored.”

Mephistopheles laughs. “What am I gonna do with you, kid?” he chuckles. As he laughs, Sock sees his shadow stretch, sees a hint of horns and wings before it’s gone.

A devil.

Well… it wasn’t like he hadn’t known already. Sock just laughs along with him.

* * *

 

Jonathan sits alone in his room, head in his hands.

A tail.

He’s not crazy. At least, he doesn’t think he is, and if it was a hallucination then Sock’s reaction was way over the top. No way. It’s not possible.

But nothing makes sense anymore anyway. What’s one more dose of crazy in his messed-up life?

He half sobs, half groans into his hands. The problem is, Sock had been a source of happiness and normal for the past few weeks. Even though Sock is weird and sometimes annoying, he’s also been the only person able to make Jonathan laugh and smile. Hell, the people he  _ does _ care about - mostly his family - are too busy being sad to help him with his own sadness.

And now he finds out Sock is a mermaid.

It’s too unreal.

It’s not fair.

He knows there’s no such thing as fair. After the shipwreck and… his parents… he could have told anyone that the world is stupid and cruel. It’s way too cruel. But he hadn’t thought it was this cruel.

“Sock is a mermaid and I’m never going to see him again.”

It sounds even worse when he says it out loud. “I’m insane.” That’s not much better either. “And a unicorn’s going to bring me some cereal,” he mutters, flopping backwards onto his bed. He can’t quite process the thought of Sock, an ordinary, cheerful kid, having a tail. He wants to second-guess himself. It’s impossible.

But unless he’s completely crazy, he knows what he saw. He shoves his face into a pillow. “Stuuuuuupid,” he grumbles. “This is so stupid.”


	3. Sunbeams are Beautiful in the Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sock is completely and utterly busted.
> 
> After some discussions and surprising restraint, they decide they're okay with this. Whatever 'this' is. Being outed as a siren is a new experience for Sock, at least to someone who's thought he has two legs. Discovering that someone's a siren is definitely new to Jonathan.
> 
> It goes about as well as one might expect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this is short. It's also a bit late right now and I don't think I did this very well but whatever. Also I've been wanting to write one of these scenes since forever, so that's cool.
> 
> By the way, this entire chapter is mostly Sock's POV, which is why it's a little muted, but his side of the story was really important. I'm debating doing Jonathan's POV, 'cause he's got some interesting thoughts (who wouldn't?) but I'm not entirely sure what to do.

Some people blame their past life for the bad stuff that happens to them now. In the present.

Sock’s always been a bad person, so he supposes that karma’s just caught up to him early. Either way, he probably deserves this. That doesn’t mean anything. This is still the worst mistake he’s ever made, and he knows it. Making deals and wanting a life he’s already thrown away is the height of idiocy, and he’s about to jump off the cliff.

But still.

Why hasn’t Jonathan shown up for three weeks straight?!

“Come on,” he mutters, head on his arms as he watches the empty street from the rocks. “You’re killing me.”

He wants Jonathan to come back. And at this point, he doesn’t care how. Jonathan might never come back, he knows, but that thought is so painful that Sock avoids it, channelling his nervousness into impatience instead. His tail churns beneath the water, but he’s very careful to keep it out of sight. It would be terrible if someone happened to spot it just before Jonathan comes along. He doesn’t want to be explaining his scaly parts while covered in blood.

“Jonathan…” He sits up, knowing it’s way too late. The sun is already sinking below the horizon, and the sky’s the shade of blue that comes just before the black of night. Jonathan wouldn’t come this late. And besides, he promised not to.

Sock hesitates, then opens his mouth and starts to sing.

He’s frustrated and lonely. He may as well get some work done while he’s at it.

It’s not the normal kind of singing, with words. His song is notes and vowels, made up of emotion and magic to entice others. It comes from his throat and peals through the air, capturing the hearts of everyone that comes nearby. It’s lovely. Even Sock, who’s never been really into music, knows that.

A couple walk by, wading into the ocean with blank faces. They sink to the bottom of the water, holding hands, suffocating with serene expressions. An old man hobbles nearby. Then more people. Sock doesn’t look at them. Instead, he looks up at the night sky, the stars glittering against velvet black as all around him, people silently drown.

For some people, it might be creepy.

Sock is just annoyed as he stretches his head, trying to let out all his irritation and fear into his song. It’s not like it changes anything - a lifeless song is just as irresistible - but it’s making  _ him _ feel better.

At least, it does. Until he hears, “Sock?”

He cuts off his song abruptly, almost choking at the unexpected interruption. He looks to see Jonathan standing there, beneath a pool of yellow light. He’s wearing his soundproof headphones, but as Sock watches, he sees Jonathan reach up and pull the headphones down. “Sock?” Jonathan repeats, sounding confused, and Sock remembers that he’s in a dark area while Jonathan has the streetlight shining all around him.

Then the screaming starts.

Sock twists to see a woman lifting her head, hair plastered to her face, her skin pale, and her eyes huge and frightened. She’s looking at him like he’s a monster. Which he is.

Instantly Sock shoves his hand into the rocks, his palm scraping against the sharp edges before grasping something smooth. He pulls out his knife and is on the woman, pushing her below the water, pushing his knife into her throat. Her mouth opens, releasing bubbles that tickles his face. Blood streams from the wound, turning the water red.

Another man is choking, coughing as he struggles to get out of the water. In a flash, Sock drags him down and kills him too.

When Sock looks back, Jonathan’s eyes are wide.

This is exactly the opposite of how Sock wanted to reunite with Jonathan. He backs away, aware of the bloody water, of the knife in his hand, of the tail keeping him upright. “H… hi,” Sock says weakly.

As weird as he might be, even he knows when the situation’s bad.

“…Hi,” Jonathan replies.

Neither of them moves closer, but after a long,  _ very _ awkward minute of silence, Jonathan finally asks, “Are you a mermaid?”

“What? No!” Sock says, shocked. “I mean, sorta, but I’m more of a… siren. Which is completely different. Because mermaids are…”  _ alive, _ he thinks but doesn’t say. He swims a little closer to the shore, encouraged when Jonathan doesn’t back away. Of course, they’ve still got a few meters between them, so it’s not much of a difference.

He realizes he’s still holding the knife, but there’s nowhere to hide it. He lowers it anyway, hoping the movement doesn’t alarm Jonathan. “You’re here.”

“Yeah. I… sorry. I was kind of… freaking out.”

“No, no! It totally makes sense, I’m just glad you’re back.”

Jonathan nods uncomfortably. Sock wants to reach out, to smile, but it’s definitely not the time. Sock’s genuinely surprised Jonathan hasn’t run away after seeing him basically murder a few people. “So… why?” Jonathan asks, gesturing in the general direction of the blood.

Sock winces. “I’m a siren.”

“Isn’t that the same as a mermaid though?”

“Sirens… they…” It seems horrible, all of a sudden, to admit what he is. It’s never phased him before. It’s even been fun. But in front of this boy that he’s grown to like, he suddenly realizes that it’s a huge hurdle to get past when it comes to normal people. “They lure people. Into drowning. Themselves.”

His sentences aren’t working properly. This sucks.

To his utter shock, Jonathan starts laughing. Sock is worried that he’s driven Jonathan insane. When Jonathan bends over, holding his sides, Sock is  _ certain _ he’s sent Jonathan spiraling into loony-land. “Jonathan? Are you alright?”

Jonathan’s chuckles subside as he brushes tears from his cheeks. “This is  _ so _ weird,” he says.

“Uh, ah, yeah. I guess so.”

“Hey, can I touch your tail?”

“What?”

* * *

 

In the end, Sock and Jonathan work out a plan to meet at noon the next day. Jonathan looks relieved - he probably doesn’t want to go into the water while it’s dark out - but Sock is so grateful that he almost loses the strength to drag the bodies back to his cave.

If Jonathan sees all the bodies drifting in the sandbed… and all the blood… and sees the knife up close…

Yeah. That wouldn’t end well.

Sock waits excitedly at the rocks, pacing back and forth. He’s a little careless, but it’s alright. He doesn’t have to hide his tail from Jonathan, not anymore. Jonathan’s probably still afraid of him, but Sock’s too happy to care.

He’s rarely had any friends before. And a friend who’s (if not completely fine with it) aware of his killing streak? It’s such an unusual occasion for Sock. It feels like his birthday.

When Jonathan comes by, Sock notices he’s holding a small box. “What’s that?” he asks as Jonathan steps into the water while holding it. The blonde looks at the box, then holds it out. “For you,” he says, turning a little red. Sock blinks in surprise, but takes the box and opens it.

There’s a light blue shirt, a brown vest, some leggings, short boots, even a scarf and a skirt. Sock smiles a bit when he sees the last one, but he doesn’t comment. Instead, he hugs the box to his chest. “Thank you!”

“…Mm.”

“Okay! You wanted to see my tail, right?”

“Yeah. If that’s… alright.”

Sock grins and holds out his hands. “C’mere.” His hands began hurt from Jonathan’s grip, but he didn’t let go. “You’re fine, you’re fine,” he reassured the blonde repeatedly. Privately he thought that he was lucky that Jonathan even wanted to touch him after what he’d seen.

His plan is to pull Jonathan below the water. It hurts to pull himself out of the water all the way, he’d explained, so this time he’ll be supporting Jonathan. The blonde is still pretty bad at going underwater, even for a little bit.

“Okay,” Sock continues. “Hold your breath, we’re going under in three…”

Jonathan’s eyes are shut tight, but impressively, his grip becomes tighter. Sock takes that as a good sign - Jonathan’s still listening.

“Two, one…” With one yank, Sock drags Jonathan below the surface, watching the blonde carefully to make sure that no bubbles of air come flying out of his mouth.

Almost immediately, Jonathan goes still. Sock gently pries his hands free, opting to hold Jonathan by the shoulders to keep him in place. “Okay. Open your eyes,” he says, delighted to see Jonathan’s surprise at how well a siren voice can carry underwater. Slowly, Jonathan looks around, taking it all in.

Sock is used to this world. It’s beautiful, and he takes its beauty for granted. After all, he’s beautiful too. He’s a siren after all. But with Jonathan looking around, curious, he can’t help but see this underwater scenery as something new. It’s because Jonathan’s never had the time to appreciate it before. The calm of the water, the sunlight passing through silt… because of Jonathan, it’s new.

Then Jonathan looks down and flushes.

“What? What is it?” Sock looks down, but he can’t see anything unusual. Oh, right, Jonathan wanted to see his tail. What’s wrong? Is there a crab or something?

What Sock doesn’t know is that his tail is glimmering a deep, dark red, and it takes Jonathan’s breath away to see it. It reminds him of Sock in so many ways. It’s the color of his hair when it’s wet. It’s the color of the sea from the previous night, bloody and alluring. It’s everything that Sock hasn’t been showing him, but it’s still so…  _ Sock. _

Jonathan hadn’t expected it to be so fascinating. Which immediately makes him blush. He opens his mouth, but he’s no siren and only air escapes, prompting Sock to haul him out of the water so he can breathe.

* * *

 

_ He’d never really seen anything wrong with people dying. _

_ It happened all the time. He just made it happen a little more often. _

_ In fact, as Sock sang, he was nearly bored as he watched people jump into the water, lured by his voice. Boy, it sure was weird being a singer. Back when he was whole, he couldn’t have carried a tune to save his life. Now, an entire ship was derailed because of his voice. _

_ Sock watched as old people, children, women, and men pitched themselves over the railings, headfirst into the sea. It was pretty stormy. Not shipwreck stormy, but close enough. They were definitely going to die, no matter what. _

_ It was then that he saw the teen. _

_ Blonde hair and a grey sweater. Despite being barefoot, as if he’d been asleep, a big pair of bulky headphones were perched on his head. He looked close to panic as he ran around, grabbing people. Lost in song, Sock couldn’t quite hear, but as he swam a little closer he thought the teen might be asking ‘why’? _

_ Their eyes met for a moment before a large wave washed the deck clean. Sock’s song stuttered to a halt as the storm and ship and sea all seemed to disappear. _

_ In that moment, for the first time ever, Sock wanted to see those eyes again. Alive. Warm and looking back at him, if only for a second more. _

_ So he stopped singing and dove. Past struggling people who had no chance against the currents, and bodies that had ceased to struggle long ago. He could see the grey sweater far below, blonde hair waving like a bit of sun at the bottom of the sea. Bubbles drifted lazily from the teen’s mouth, strangely peaceful. _

_ Gathering the teen up in his arms, Sock swam, his powerful tail propelling them to the shore. It was miles away, but Sock didn’t feel the weight of the teen. All he could think of was the bright blue of his eyes. _

* * *

 

“Hey, how old are you?”

Sock looks at Jonathan, surprised. “Where did that question come from?”

“Just because…”

Sock laughs. “It’s fine! I look lots younger than I am. I guess I’m around 19 by now? Time passes pretty quickly… what? What’s wrong?”

“I’m only 18, what the hell?”


	4. Extra: Something Like A Story Cover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm hashing out the story order (again) so I drew some art. And immediately decided to try to post it, only to discover the fact that I had no idea how to do that.
> 
> It took me few hours and some Googling to figure it out. My thanks to whoever this is: https://voltrongenminibang.tumblr.com/post/162790326041/posting-images-to-ao3
> 
> There's a better version of this picture here: https://www.deviantart.com/wake-me-never/art/Your-Eyes-Are-Really-Pretty-803089807


	5. Stay Away From the Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jonathan deals with his grief by hanging out with Sock. Sock is more than happy with this, and they quickly fall into a comfortable routine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some filler tbh but there's some fluff and some angst and Sock makes a pretty stupid decision. Sorry it's been awhile but don't worry, I'll try to get the next scene out soon...ish.
> 
> Thanks for the kudos, guys. ^^ The support really helps.
> 
> Edit: I'm sorry, I just found my files, so the chapter is updated now. -_-;

_“Hey, what’s the view like from your window?”_

_“Huh? My window?... boring, I guess. Why?”_

_“I just wanted to know… it’s been awhile, are you doing alright?”_

_“Yeah. School’s boring though. You ever coming home?”_

_“Well, of course, but lately work’s been so busy. I keep needing to remind my manager to give me overtime, too. Today -”_

_“Mom…”_

_“Oh, sorry. You don’t want to hear about work again, huh? It’s just more adult stuff.”_

_“Is dad there?”_

_“Sorry, sweetie, he’s at a meeting right now. I’ll tell him you love him.”_

_“Yeah.”_

_“We’ll be coming home in a few weeks! The 24th, promise. I’ll drag dad there if I have to.”_

_“Really? For how long?”_

_“A month at least! We’re going to do something fun, I promise. Maybe the beach?”_

_“Mom, you know I can’t swim!”_

_“Oh, that’s right. I miss the ocean, though. Remember when we used to go when you were little?”_

_“Not really.”_

_“Sorry, I have to -”_

_“Uh, hey! Wait! I - Maybe a boat ride?”_

_“What?”_

_“One of my classmates mentioned it… it’s short, and we could maybe -”_

_“Sounds great! I’ll tell your father and book it ahead of time. He can’t say no!”_

_“Really?”_

_“Promise! I love you, see you soon!”_

_“See you soon, mom.”_

* * *

His eyes hurt. They _burn._ “Can’t we take a break?” he sputters, trying to keep his head above water. Sock hovers in front of him, arms outstretched in case Jonathan needs support. Being a mermaid - sorry, _siren_ \- apparently means Sock can take the weight and keep them both afloat if need be, but the whole point is so that Jonathan can learn to swim on his own.

Which he can do just fine. Until the waves start getting erratic and splashing over him without any warning.

Plus, Sock keeps trying to make him laugh, which is pretty disastrous for his staying-above-water agenda. “Shut up!” Jonathan shouts, trying frantically to not laugh at Sock’s most recent pun.

Sock giggles, adjusting his goggles.

Damn siren with the ability to breathe underwater. Jonathan lifts his chin, breathing deeply. “It’s your - bleh!”

“Ahaha, water got your tongue?”

“Sock -!”

“Waah, don’t drag me down with you!”

“Liar, you’re doing perfectly fine! I’m taking a break!” Jonathan grumbles, spitting out more saltwater as he wades back through the shallows. He sits on the wet sand with a groan. His limbs used to hurt while swimming, but it’s not so bad anymore. Still… “I’m tired.”

“Then you should do more swimming!” Sock calls from the rocks, grinning widely.

“Yeah right… give me a break…”

“You’re no fun… Oh, I had an idea!” Sock says excitedly, which is already giving Jonathan a bad feeling. “There’s a place not far from here where kids sometimes jump. From pylons.”

“Sorry, from what? Wait, why -”

“They’re kinda like cement blocks on the water, but there’s a ladder and everything. They’re only twenty feet high and the water’s deep so -”

“Twenty feet from the sand bottom?”

“Er… Twenty feet above the water, but that’s not the po -”

Jonathan turns to stare at Sock. “Sock,” he says slowly, “I almost died from treading water. You want me to go jumping off of a twenty-foot drop?”

“Yes! So you’ll go?”

“What? No - ugh. Fine. But on one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“You’re going to wait right there in case you need to catch me.”

“I’m not catching you, Jonathan.”

“You’re going to, or I’m not going.”

After some convincing, Sock reluctantly agrees to wait at the bottom in case Jonathan panics. “But I’m not catching you!” he maintains. “That’ll just end badly for us both!” Then Jonathan requires more convincing when they reach the ladder, which is, in his own words, “An evil slippery thing of hell that’s definitely going to make me fall off before I even get to the top.”

“Do _not_ stretch out your arms,” Sock lectures as Jonathan sits at the edge of the concrete, looking down at Sock. “Take a _deep_ breath, hold your nose, and keep your legs down and straight.”

“You sound concerned for once. I’m actually worried.”

Sock just sighs. “It’s really fun, honest! I did this before, but once I panicked and stuck my arms out straight - boy, that stung for a good while.”

“Yeah? Sounds like I shouldn’t jump down after all…”

“How else are you going to get down?” Sock points out, grinning. Jonathan concedes defeat on that point - the ladder had been a pain going up, he doesn’t want to go back down after all that work. He gets up and gingerly steps onto the edge, staring down.

He’s not exactly afraid of heights, but the unknown factor is making him nervous. “Uh… You want me to jump off of this?” he checks.

Sock nods. “Don’t worry, it’s plenty deep,” he promises. “No chance you’re going to hit the bottom. Or anything else.”

“Anything else but water,” Jonathan mumbles. He takes a step back, then decides there’s nothing else for it but to force himself. “One,” he says, taking a step, “two, three.” On his third step he’s stepping into thin air. At the last minute he breathes in and remembers to hold his nose.

As he starts falling, he expects to hit the water.

It doesn’t happen for a few seconds longer than he’d thought, giving him the uncomfortable feeling like he’s left his stomach behind. The feeling he gets when he’s missed a step and hits the ground harder than he’d thought.

Then he hits the water and goes under, feeling bubbles rush past him. He realizes that, in the moment, he’d closed his eyes. Then his need to breathe kicks in, and he hastily kicks his way back up to the surface. The moment he breathes in and opens his eyes, he sees Sock in front of him.

“That was perfect! Next time try a flip!”

“A flip?! No way -” Jonathan has to cut himself off in order to breathe. Surprisingly, he feels exhausted.

“Aw, come on. Wasn’t that fun?”

“Yeah. Give me a hundred more years, maybe I’ll do a flip then.”

“Okay! It’s a deal!”

Jonathan just breathes hard, then groans. “It’d be better if you could come up with me, then I could push you off.”

“What? Why?!”

“Stress-relief.”

* * *

Jonathan smiles at his relatives and laughs at all the right times. He goes to school and keeps his head down. Everything is different without his parents. It's all wrong. Sometimes he really wants to punch something. Other times he can't feel anything at all. It's like he's living in someone else's body, living someone else's life. There's no consequences, no rewards - no goals other than to live.

And sometimes, he doesn't even want to do that.

"Hey, can I take a picture of you?" he asks one day, entirely out of the blue.

Sock blinks at him in surprise. "Sure! Why? I mean, it's totally fine and all, but why would you want a picture of me?"

Jonathan just shrugs, fiddling with his phone and aiming it at Sock. The siren strikes a ridiculous pose that makes Jonathan laugh as he presses the button. The result is a slightly blurred photo of Sock, his pale skin made too bright by his phone's filters. Before he can fix it, Sock yanks him into the water, making Jonathan yelp. "My phone!"

"It's okay!" Sock says, snatching the phone away and angling it in selfie mode.

There's a shutter sound, and Jonathan belatedly realizes Sock had tricked him into taking a picture. "You got it wet!" Jonathan cries, taking the phone back and examining it closely. Sock looks a little apologetic, but then bursts out in peals of laughter.

The phone is fine. After wiping it on his still-sorta-dry shorts, Jonathan sloshes out of the water to safely hide his phone in his bag. When he comes back, he glares playfully at Sock. "You're gonna pay for that!" he yells, running into the water to launch himself at the siren.

He tries not to think about the blood in the water. He tries not to think about the day he almost drowned - the day he'd watched people jump into the water, the day he'd seen his parents drown. He tries to be like Sock. He tries to forget that there is anything but the sand and the sun and the sea. He tries to smile and pretend that this is okay.

It's different from when he pretends for his family and teachers. It's different because Sock is here. Sock makes it so that, sometimes, it hardly feels like he's pretending at all.

* * *

Sock holds the swimming goggles Jonathan had given him in one hand, nervously passing them from hand to hand. His fear that Jonathan won't show up has mostly abated, but in the back of his mind always lies the little voice whispering, what if he's finally gotten tired of Sock? What if this week is the week Jonathan decides to never come back?

Then he hears faint music playing. He pushes himself off the rocks to turn and look, but feels headphones settle over his ears. He turns completely, startled, only to find that Jonathan's blue eyes are very close. The blonde grins, tilting his head. Sock can't hear anything over the music, but he reads Jonathan's lips - "Like it?" Jonathan asks.

Sock opens and closes his mouth, staring wide-eyed at Jonathan's face.

He flushes. "Er... yeah," he mumbles.

He's lying. He's too distracted by the lack of distance between them to hear the lyrics, but he can't move - the cord is connected to Jonathan's phone. If his headphones fell into the water, Jonathan would kill him.

Sock laughs lightly, leaning in. "Gosh, Jonathan, is this what flirting looks like?" he teases, gratified to see Jonathan turn red and pull away. It's not fair if he's the only one uncomfortable, after all. He takes off the headphones and hands them back, his ears throbbing slightly. Turns out Jonathan listens to some really loud music. Sock's surprised the boy hasn't gone deaf yet.

"Just kidding! Come on, get in the water already!" Sock says happily, urging Jonathan on.

The blonde rolls his eyes before stripping down quickly, climbing into the water with relative ease. Sock feels proud just watching him. He's come so far.

Then Jonathan sneezes. "It's cold," he complains.

Sock blinks, but then sputters as Jonathan suddenly splashes him in the face. "Gotcha!" Jonathan cackles madly, backpedaling to avoid the retaliation splash Sock sends his way. "Oh, it's on!" Sock yells, chasing after the blonde.

He grabs Jonathan's legs and pulls him under, letting go instantly and laughing as Jonathan spits out a mouthful of water. "Gross!" Jonathan tackles Sock, effectively dunking the siren. Of course, this doesn't affect Sock at all. Even through the water, Jonathan can hear Sock chuckling in his ear as clear as day. They shove each other around for a little bit before ending back up in the shallows, exhausted.

Then Jonathan shivers. "Ugh, sun, come back," he says, looking up at the clouds passing overhead.

Sock pokes Jonathan. "You're so weird," he teases.

"No, you," Jonathan says, poking him back. He rolls his eyes and leans back. There's a lull before Jonathan says out of the blue, "Hey, are you really 19?"

The question takes Sock by surprise, and he turns over to see Jonathan's gaze fixed on the sky. "Yeah. Why?" he asks curiously.

Jonathan flushes. "I did some research," he says sheepishly. "I know most of it is probably wrong, but I found some stories about... er... sirens being immortal. I mean, most stories actually have sirens being immortal and stuff. Mermaids were usually mortal and all that."

Sock giggles. "You thought I was immortal?"

"...It crossed my mind," Jonathan admits. "I didn't find much..."

"Ooh, I bet you found plenty," Sock says, giggling harder.

"I didn't find much," Jonathan insists, flushing harder.

"Oh, well. If you didn't find anything, you didn't find anything." Sock stays silent for a moment before adding mischievously, "I bet you didn't find anything about clothes, either!"

Jonathan groans loudly. "Shut up."

Sock just giggles.

* * *

"Hey kid."

Sock jumps and spins around, startled to find Mephistopheles behind him. "Oh, um, hi," he says, smiling. He doesn't miss the fact that Mephistopheles has materialized behind him - between him and the entrance of the cave, effectively blocking him in. Cornering him. "How's my harvest?"

Mephistopheles eyes the bodies around the cave. "It's rather dull-looking, I suppose. A normal amount."

That's... not good.

The bodies disappear with a snap of Mephistopheles' fingers. He strides over to Sock, draping himself over a few rocks as if it were a couch. "How's your human?"

Ooh, that's definitely not good. "...What?"

"Don't play dumb, Sowachowski. Your little blonde boy, practically a child." Mephistopheles rolls his eyes. "Personally I don't see the appeal."

Sock flinches.

"Oh, don't worry. I don't mind if you have a fling here and there. You're a siren after all, the legends have to come from somewhere. Hardly the first time it's happened." Mephistopheles pulls out a piece of paper from thin air, pretending to read it over. Sock recognizes it immediately. It's his contract. He's not even surprised that the paper is completely dry, despite them being underwater. Mephistopheles doesn't follow the rules.

Mephistopheles lets out a mock gasp of surprise. "Well, would you look at that. Nothing about keeping yourself a secret or not falling in love. Looks like you're safe!"

"...Really?"

"Yep!" Mephistopheles snickers. "Come on, kid, I wouldn't fire one of my sirens for something that stupid."

Sock hesitates. "Thanks?"

"You should be thanking me! But, that's beside the point. As a matter of fact, I was wondering if you could do me a favor..."

"..."

Mephistopheles grins. "That human of yours, he's rather interesting, isn't he? Would he kill for you, I wonder?"

"What?" Sock can't help saying incredulously. "What're you talking about?"

"Nothing, nothing. Right, the favor - well, how about this? If you devote yourself harvesting for the next few months, I'll let you have a few months off. A paid vacation, except you're never paid." Mephistopheles shrugs. "I've got a shortage, thanks to some less-than-hardworking sirens. Not a bad deal, if I do say so myself." Mephistopheles extends his hand, eyes dancing with a strange light. "So? How does it sound?"

Sock's eyes widen. A few straight months off? He was fine with the status quo... but the thought of being able to be with Jonathan more often was tempting. "Okay," he says impulsively, reaching out to shake hands with the devil. "You've got yourself a deal."


End file.
